Sunday, March 27, 2011

10 Things that a Brit in the USA should never forget! (funny British and American differences written from experience!)

Being a Brit who has visited the USA many times and who now finds himself to be a US immigrant living here, I’ve learnt from experience that despite many similarities, there are a number of funny British and American differences, both with British and American culture, as well as British and American English. So here are my 10 things that a Brit in the USA should never forget!

1. Don’t forget that there are alligators, snakes and giant insects roaming loose in the neighbourhood. Even if the Floridians think this is normal, it is not.

2. Remember that under no circumstances should you say: “smoking a fag”, as it means something very different in the USA to what it does in England. Remember that to the American ear, you are not referring to “puffing on a cigarette”, you are talking about “shooting a gay person”, or doing something more graphic to him.

3. Don’t forget that you can eat pancakes all year round in the USA and not just on Shrove Tuesday. Yum yum.

4. Don’t forget that the weather is predictably sunny in Florida. You do not need to take a jacket or a jumper out with you, just in case the weather turns bad. They do not have rain, sunshine, hail, wind, sleet, snow, and fog all in one day, like they do in Britain.

5. Don’t spend two weeks searching for coriander in the supermarkets. There is no herb of that name in the USA. If you want to make a curry, look for something called cilantro. It looks and smells like coriander and is in fact, coriander, but it is called by a completely different name. Do not attempt to pronounce oregano the way that the Americans do.

6. Don’t forget that when an American in the Deep South says that he’s been saved, it doesn’t mean that someone has stopped him from drowning, or prevented him from scoring a goal at football – he means that he has found the Lord.

7. Don’t forget to leave a tip every time you go to the bar and buy a beer. Remember that the USA is the most generous tipping culture in the world and that they thrust dollars at people just for looking in their general direction – okay that’s a slight exaggeration.

8. Remember that Americans usually drink out of small beer bottles and European 500cl bottles are relatively rare. Do not imply that American men are less manly because of this.

9. Don’t forget that the day after Christmas is just another day in the USA and the term, “Boxing Day” does not exist.

10. Do not attempt to use the phrases: “in a strop”, “dustbin men”, or refer to a “yard” as a “garden”, as you will get blank or funny looks.

This is my first time visiting your blog from http://theloeckenfamilyblog.blogspot.com Love hearing your perspective on British English versus American English...I am just now realizing that when I'm being asked "You all right?" it's like being asked "How are you?" The person is not implying that I am NOT all right. As far as giant insect, I think the spiders I've been finding in our Surrey household can rival those of Florida!! Seriously, one of the spiders could probably dine on a Floridian snake!

Coriander comes from the seeds of the plant, cilantro is the leaves. You'll definitely find something called "coriander" in the US, just know that it's the seeds. If you want coriander leaves, look for cilantro.

We also differentiate between muesli and granola (raw versus toasted) and sultanas and raisins (sultana's come specifically from sultana grapes, whereas raisins is a catch-all term).

I think anonymous is thinking of coriander seeds. The leaf though is what the Brits are talking about, not the seeds. Am I right, Paul?

I just got back from a visit to my dear friends in Northern Ireland, and we frequently talked about many of these things. There are chips versus crisps and let's not even talk about "cookies!" And if you told an American you were in a queue at the chip shop, they would look at you like you just blurted out something in Chinese.

There are many spices that I use frequently which are hard to find in an average American grocery store. Coriander is one of them, but the situation is improving: Spice Islands now sells a 3oz container in most grocery stores.

Using the Spanish term, "cilantro" for the leaves of the coriander plant is an Americanism, I believe. It maybe comes from American people encountering the leaves of the plant being used in Mexican cooking? So people call it coriander when it's in seed form, but cilantro when it's leaves?

In the UK (and in other English speaking countries, I think?), it's a coriander plant, with coriander leaves, and coriander seeds etc. They probably call it cilantro in Spain though...

I absolutely love reading this from the "other" side. The oregano rule goes the same for Americans in England - please in the name of all that is holy, do not attempt to say it the "British" way. I think this should be grounds for deportation personally :)

@Brett Stevens - the Americans don't generally eat as much "ethnic" food as the Brits, I#'m finding. Well, not in the South, anyway, I'm sure NYC is different. I can get everything I need, just about, but have to hunt more and pay more, often.

This post is hilarious and as a Canadian living in Ireland, I can totally relate to all the funny things you are encountering! I've had my share of funny looks when I've referred to a fanny, or, give me a ride. But I still can't get used to people asking me if I'm all right instead of "how are you" - I always feel as if I must look ill! Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

Haha, I love this! Too funny. I am an American living abroad in Germany, so it is funny to see the other side of things. Stopped over from Post of the Month Club, have a great one!http://texagermanadian.blogspot.com/

Enjoyed this post, Paul. That pronounciation of oregano has me wondering too. Here in South Africa, our spelling of certain words is much the same as in the UK, but I'm wondering how oregano is pronounced in both the UK and the US. In South Africa it's orrie (or orry like lorry) then gar (like car or when you start to say "gone") then "no" - so, "orrie-gar-no."

ps, can't quite remember how this blog looked the last time I was here, but I don't think like this, I think you changed it, (unless I'm just being blonde) and it's looking good.

I've visited friends in LA several times and last time I went to a Renaissance Faire. I got blank looks when I pronounced it Ren - ay - sonce instead of Renny - sans! I was horrified to hear about "biscuits and gravy" and it took me some time to find out that "biscuits" are actually what we call dumplings! I mentioned on Facebook that I have Ladybirds hibernating in a corner of my bedroom and then had to translate that as Ladybugs because the Americans thought I had real birds in my room!

The number of times I have found myself in the situation where it's fairly dark and an American has been trying to fix something like plumbing under a kitchen cabinet or an engine under the bonnet of a car. I very kindly offer them a torch and always get an incredulous blank look on total incomprehension.

When I explain the cylindrical thing with batteries and a bulb at one end that projects light you see the lightbulb flash in their eyes and the word "Flashlight" materializes.

It cracks me up to think that by the look on their faces they obviously thought I was going to produce a burning torch. Unfortunately flashlight isn't a word that comes to mind easily to a Brit and always disappears from mind when one is needed.